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  When Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, apologized for the recalls that have harmed Toyota’s reputation, he talked not just about his company’s fate, but also his nation’s.

  “I hope to return Toyota to profit and contribute to the revitalization of Japan,”he said.

  Once a leading symbol of Japan’s rise to global economic might, Toyota has become one of the most obvious signs of its decline.And even before the recalls, Japan’s rivals(競爭對手) from South Korea and China had started overtaking Japan in key industries from semi-conductors to flat-panel televisions.And Toyota on Tuesday issued another damaging recall, this time of its popular Prius car.

  “At this rate, Japan will sink into the sea,”said Masatomo Tanaka, a professor at the Institute of Technologists.“If Toyota is not healthy, then Japan is not healthy.”

  Many economists and business leaders say they hope that Toyota’s trouble will be the wake-up call that Japan needs to understand that its reliance on manufacturing(制造業(yè)) and industrial exports, which served the country so well after World War II, is no longer wise.

  Yukio Noguchi, a professor of finance at Waseda University in Tokyo, said Japan must finally step into a post - industrial, service-based economy-a painful shift that the United States and Great Britain underwent in the 1980s.Others said Japan should focus on high-end, high-profit products, like robots and fuel cells, rather than mass-produced goods subject to quality-control issues.

  “Even Toyota can fail.Even Lexus, even Prius,”said Mr.Noguchi.“Our world-leading manufacturing industry may no longer world-leading.This has a strong impact on the national psyche.”

  According to the Cabinet Office, manufacturing accounted for 22% of Japan’s entire economic output in 2008, down from 28% in 1990.however, manufacturing’s share of the economy still remains far above the level of 12% in the US.And few economists or journalists here advocate abrupt shifting.Rather, the feeling is that Japan needs to find a new balance by replacing its traditional industries with more information technology and software industries in which it is weak.

  Yet this shift will be hard for Japan, where many policy makers and experts still seem to cling to the old model of heavy industries and consumer goods.If Japan can pull it off, it could serve as a model for other export-dependent Asian nations, which will also eventually face the same choice.

  “I hope that Toyota will change our way of looking at our economy,”Mr Noguchi said.“We cannot survive if we continue to stick to the old type of industries.”

(1)

Since the Second World War, ________ have been contributing much to Japan’s economy.

[  ]

A.

high-end and high-profit products like robots and fuel cells

B.

manufacturing and industrial exports

C.

information technology and software industries

D.

industries from semi-conductors to panel-televisions

(2)

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage above?

[  ]

A.

Few Japanese economists advocate a rapid shift into a service-based economy.

B.

Most journalists in Japan advocate an abrupt change into a post-industrial economy.

C.

Many economists hold that it is too early for Japan to shift into a service-based economy.

D.

No Japanese reporters think it high time for Japan to step into a post-industrial economy.

(3)

The underlined part“cling to”probably means ________ in the passage.

[  ]

A.

hold on to

B.

keep up with

C.

turn to

D.

pick up

(4)

From the passage we know the way out for Japan to get itself free from its decline consists in ________.

[  ]

A.

keeping up its reliance on manufacturing

B.

continuing to focus on its industrial export

C.

speeding up its shift into a post-industrial economy

D.

increasing its manufacturing

答案:1.B;2.A;3.A;4.C;
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科目:高中英語 來源:設(shè)計必修一英語北師版 北師版 題型:050

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How Long Can People Live?

  She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday.

  Whe n it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder.She lived to the ripe old age of 122.So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(壽命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150-or beyond?

  Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers.“Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas.

  Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees.“People can live much longer than we think,”he says.“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110.When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120.So why can’t we go higher?”

  The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing.“Anyone can make up a number,”says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan.“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine.”

  Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120.Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most.So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120.”

  So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有彈性的),but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington.“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,”he says.“But a fly’s never going to live 150 years.”

  “Of course, if you became a new species(物種),one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story,”he adds.

  Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(進化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about it,”he says with a smile.

(1)

What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?

[  ]

A.

People can live to 122.

B.

Old people are creative.

C.

Women are sporty at 85.

D.

Women live longer than men.

(2)

According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ________.

[  ]

A.

the average human life span could be 110

B.

scientists cannot find ways to slow aging

C.

few people can expect to live to over 150

D.

researchers are not sure how long people can live

(3)

Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?

[  ]

A.

Jerry Shay.

B.

Steve Austad

C.

Rich Miller

D.

George Martin

(4)

What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?

[  ]

A.

Most of us could be good at sports even at 120.

B.

The average human life span cannot be doubled.

C.

Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before.

D.

New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species.

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